The Arizona House approved a measure to restore Medicaid funding for organ transplants and the state Senate was expected to also approve the measure. Governor Jan Brewer took heavy criticism for cutting the money from the sate budget late last year, as the state grappled with a crushing budget deficit.
In addition, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System has proposed charging $50 annual premiums to smokers and other Medicaid members who engage in specific unhealthy behaviors.
[Also in the news: Florida pushes forward with plan to shift Medicaid to managed care; New health plan launches medical home model for its SC Medicaid contract]
Eight healthcare centers in West Virginia sought an injunction against the state for Medicaid reimbursement rates they contend do not follow state or federal guidelines. The legal action is separate from a similar lawsuit filed by Appalachian Regional Healthcare at the end of 2010 that contends the state's Bureau of Medical Services has never complied with the Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, which provides the methodology used to determine Medicaid payments. The state has moved to have the complaints dismissed, while the healthcare providers maintain that current funding levels would cause many providers to go out of business and thus restrict access to care for the more than 350,000 people receiving state-funded healthcare.
Ohio expects Medicaid expenses to increase by $2.3 billion over six years and add 970,000 new people to its rolls as a result of health reform according to new figures released by the state. The estimate is the second attempt by Ohio to get a handle on the impact at the state level of the Affordable Care Act. Initial projections from early 2010 indicated Medicaid rolls would swell by more than 550,000. The higher projections are based on a information that shows many employers have dropped health insurance benefits for works, as well as a 55 percent increase in households in the state living at less than 200 percent of the poverty level.